The Half-Blood Magician
by MagisterScriptor0006
Summary: A powerful magician from the Per Ankh School of Magic in Brooklyn, New York applies to attend Hogwarts, and is accepted. How will this magician and his interactions with The Boy Who Lived and his friends shape their destiny in the struggle against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello again! An attempt of mine to write a fanfic, and a Harry Potter crossover! I've been a huge fan of the Kane Chronicles forever, and my sister recently got the entire Harry Potter series, and after reading it I got hooked. So, I decided to write a fanfic about a magician who makes the decision to attend Hogwarts in order to learn the magic of wizards. Hope you enjoy!**

Hiya there! My name is Benjamin Garner. I'm eleven years old. Most eleven-year-olds don't have problems worth reading about, but that's the first difference between me and most eleven-year-olds. My mom and most of my friends/classmates (or should I say former classmates) are super pissed off at me right now. Was it because I played a horrible prank that ended up going awry? Or did get involved in a huge fight with someone and was presumed dead while it turns out I was actually alive? Or did I break a rule so important that it ended up having adverse effects on me and my classmates?

Nope.

My peeps are mad at me because I applied for a school transfer. But then you might wonder "Why is _that_ such a big deal? This seems like an ordinary middle school drama." But you'd be wrong. I applied to-and got accepted into- The Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft.

Yep. You read that right. I'm a wizard. Or a magician. Or both. Best way to explain it is I was the latter, but I'm becoming the former. You may think there's no difference, but trust me, there is. In fact, I once got in such a heated debate with on of my classmates about whether there was a difference or not, and the argument got so "heated" that he burned of almost all of my clothes. But we'll get into that later.

By now you might be thinking "Pfft, yeah right. Everyone knows there's no such thing as magic." You'd be wrong again. Magic is real. But before I go into that further, I'll need to explain a few things.

Remember some of those stories of mythology your parents sometimes told you? About Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Norse, Aztec, and Japanese gods and deities? Well, they're not just stories. They're real. All of those gods and deities actually exist. No need to worry though, I'm not concerned about all of them, just Egyptian myths, deities, and creatures. Now, the Egyptian deities were considered to be strange compared to most of the other pantheons. Most of the deities of the other pantheons usually had affairs with mortals and sired powerful children known as demigods, or godlings. But the Egyptians were different in that sense. Very rarely did they ever have affairs with mortals. But they did have their godlings. Just in a different sense of the word. We don't worship the Egyptian deities. We revere and respect them, we interact with them, draw on their power, and even fight them on some occasions, but never worship them. Our bird-headed bookworm friend Thoth, the god of wisdom, made us understand that fact. He also gave us another gift: the ability to call on the power of Ma'at (order) to perform divine magic. And thus was born the Per Ankh, or the House of Life, a school dedicated to teaching those eligible to learn magic how to control their powers.

Of course, only those with the blood of the pharaohs can learn divine magic. But these mortals sure are something else. Somehow, the mortals developed their own form of magic that wasn't quite as powerful as the divine type, but what they lacked in power in they made up in flexibility. The mortals began to call themselves wizards and witches, and designed an entire civilization around them, and schools to hone and improve their magic.

These wizards and witches soon found out about magicians, and once they did they saw this as an opportunity to improve their magic power and skill and invited them to attend their schools, an exchange of knowledge. Magicians, however, were disgusted by this idea. They saw the magic of wizards as a cheap knock-off, their magic was below them, and they didn't want to defile themselves with "impure" magic. For years all the magicians continued to school at Per Ankh, and the wizards schooled at their various schools.

My mother's name is Joan. He parents were magicians, although this fact was unknown to them because magic had not been practiced for generations. However, she soon found out that she was descended from a great magician, one of the few to ever defeat all the members of Per Ankh in a duel. The Chief Lector explained all of this to her. The Chief Lector is the most powerful magician alive, and he also doubles as something similar to a headmaster of the Per Ankh. He approached my mother and explained all this to her, and offered her a place at Per Ankh. She accepted, but a few days later she received a letter from Hogwarts, inviting her to attend. When the Chief Lector heard about it he was livid. He told he that this was simply a trick of the wizards to infiltrate and discover the secrets of Per Ankh. From that moment on my mother saw wizards as nothing but tricksters and scum, to say the least.

With that being the case, you'd have an idea as to why she was pissed off as hell at me for informing he of my decision to attend Hogwarts.

"What do you mean you're transferring to Hogwarts?! Have you gone insane?!" She yelled, and I'm pretty sure that people halfway across the state could hear that.

"Uh, Mom, you might want to keep your voice down. I heard that Ghanaians don't appreciate noise too much," I noted, hiding a smirk on my face.

"Oh, shut up," She snapped. "I don't know what kind of madness has possessed you to consider even thinking about applying for that school."

"The kind of madness that makes me not want to be racist!" I said. "I mean we both practice magic, so why are the wizards inferior to us?"

"The fact that the magic we learn was directly taught to us by the gods themselves!" Mom stated. "Their "magic" is nothing but a cheap secondhand trick that lacks the power to match the weakest of our spells!"

"That's exactly why I want to go school with them!" I argued. "I want help them improve their magic while they help me improve mine!"

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"Like you said, their magic lacks power. I plan to teach them how to strengthen their magic, if possible. I also wish to learn how to make my magic more flexible. Plus, I doubt it's very healthy for to spend eight in a mortal school and another four, plus majority of my weekend in the Per Ankh."

"See?" Mom growled. "You want to lower our magic to their standards when it's perfect the way it is! We were taught magic by the gods themselves, and you want to drag yourself down to their level!"

I could tell this conversation wasn't going anywhere. "Fine Mom," I started. "You don't have to accept my decision. I simply wished to tell you out of courtesy. You are my mother, after all. I didn't want you to get worried if I suddenly up and left. But don't be mistaken; I've already been accepted into Hogwarts, and my list of supplies is in my Duat locker. But I can easily get all these supplies myself. It'll only take me an hour to get to London. But I do want you to be there. So are you going to help me or not?" I stared directly into the eyes of my mother.

My mother is a pretty stubborn person. But no matter how stubborn she thinks she is, I'm ten times as stubborn. That's the thing about stubborn people and their children. Eventually, she broke away from my gaze and put on a defeated look.

"Very well," she said. "Get the griffin ready."

"Where to first?" My mother grumbled. We were currently standing in the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, and all the staring and looks we received while we were inside the bar soured my mother already bad mood.

"Um, Diagon Alley. It's just beyond this wall." I replied, pointing to the wall behind the trash cans. "Let's see…the instructions said to find the brick, and then tap it three times. Hmm…" I began tapping above the trash cans, looking for the one that would open up the secret entrance to Diagon Alley. It took a few minutes, but eventually I managed to get the right stone and once I tapped three times, the bricks folded upon themselves until we found ourselves facing an archway that led to a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Yep, this is it." I said turning to my mom. Personally, I found the secret entrance impressive, but my mother remained as stony-faced as ever.

"Good. Let's get your supplies and get out of here. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."

"Okay. The first thing on the list is uniforms, and it says we can find them Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions."

"Do you have their money?"

"Yep. Dad left a lot in the locker." And with that, we set of to buy my uniforms. I noticed a particularly large man standing near the window of the shop we were heading to, holding two ice creams, apparently waving to someone already inside the shop. A few seconds later a small boy around my age walked out of the shop holding the robes he'd just finished buying, walked up to the big man, and left. I couldn't get a good look at his face, but something about the boy struck as important.

A pale faced boy also walked out before we went in, and I could feel a bad vibe coming off from this one. Anyway, we walked in and were met with the sight of a squat, smiling woman who I assumed was a witch, due to her choice of profession. She was dressed in lilac.

"Excuse me, are you the owner of this pitiful shop?" My mom asked. I winced at my mother's choice in manners, but there was nothing I could really do about that, because of the magicians and their beliefs. I internally made a promise to find a way to make magicians let go of this prejudiced notion of theirs.

I watched the woman's smile falter for a moment, but it came back, a little more forced this time. "Yes, ma'am, I am Madam Malkin. Welcome to my atelier. How may I help you?"

"My son will be attending Hogwarts soon-" her tone became slightly sourer at this point "-and he needs to buy his uniform. I'm told this is the best place to purchase them."

"Yes, of course. I just finished with two other Hogwarts students." She turned to me. "Right this way." She led me to the back of the shop where she asked me to stand on a stool, before pulling a robe over my head a pinning it to the correct measurements.

"Um, excuse me," I started.

"Yes?" She said, not taking her eyes off of her work.

"I just wanted to apologize for my mother's behavior. She a bit cranky right now."

"Don't worry, dearie. She's not the first customer I've to deal with that had a sour personality."

"She's not really a bad person." I said. "Just…misguided." The rest of the measuring went on in silence, but I could tell Madam Malkin was no longer offended. Once we finished I collected all my robes and pushed through the air like if I was putting an object in a locker. Sure enough, the items disappeared much to the surprise of Madam Malkin. My mom paid of the robes and walked out of the store. I waited for her to leave, and tossed a Galleon at Madam Malkin as tip. She gave me a wide smile and waved at me as I walked out of the store.

"Continue to patronize them like that, and soon enough they start to believe that they're as good as us magicians. They already treat other magical creatures." Mom huffed.

I scoffed. "Look in the mirror recently? I doubt that lady even knew we were magicians. She probably thought we were foreign wizards with our heads stuck far up our rear ends." But my mom's comment made wonder. Are wizards really racist towards other magical creatures?

"Anyway, we just have to get our course books and some other items, but we'll be finished after that." I explained. My mom snorted.

"Whatever. Let's just be done with this so we leave sorry excuse for a magic village."

We went to a shop called Gray Ibis for my course books, and for the other materials we were directed to a store called the Winged Snake. My mom wanted us to buy a solid gold cauldron saying that "if you have to buy any of this crap at least let it be in the highest quality" but I reminded her that it said pewter on the list, eventually she grudgingly agreed to buy what was on list. I almost forgot to buy the basic potion ingredients, but I remembered in the nick of time.

Whenever I bought something, I immediately stored it in my Duat locker. When doing this, I wondered if it had a limit to how many items it could store, because I already had a bunch of stuff in there, and now I was adding even more things.

Finally, we returned home, and I spent my last month alternatively training with my fellow magicians (who seemed to be giving me the cold shoulder) and trying to learn about the history of wizards, Hogwarts, and typical wizarding behaviors and procedures, etc.

Finally, on the morning I was to leave for Hogwarts, my mother accompanied me to the King's Cross Station, and we landed the griffin in a hidden area where no one would see.

"Well, this is it, Mom." I said. I found it extremely hard to say goodbye to her, even though she spent the entire last month telling me why my decision was foolish and whatnot. "I love you," I said, wrapping my arms around her. For a second I was afraid that she would let me go like that, but delicately hugged me back too.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out of here." She said in her hard tone, but I knew she was hiding the fact that deep down she was just as sad as I was to see me go, maybe even more. I let go of her and started heading towards the station, and when I looked back I saw something glittering in her eyes.

I tried to focus my mind on my new school, how many friends I would make, and even what kinds of magic I would learn. After reading about potions, I was thinking about a way to teach other magic as well, but if I was successful, then it would end up being super painful.

And that's how my first year the British school of Wizardry and Witchcraft began.

 **A/N: And this is where we end for now! This is just a prologue, of course! The real story starts next chapter. Let me know what you think! Please be gentle, as this is my first fanfic.**


	2. A Train Ride To Hogwarts on James

**A/N: So it seems I got a positive response for my fanfiction, which is awesome. To my reviewer, I'm glad you've chosen to give this story a chance, and I hope you continue to enjoy this fanfic! On with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 1: A Train Ride to Hogwarts on James' Cousin

Stupid. Different. Foolish. Weird. Those are only few words that people who knew him would use to describe Benjamin Garner. He was eleven years old, with jet black hair, light skinned complexion, and an athletic build. He also had dark blue eyes that seemed to change color, like stones in a kaleidoscope. A bit mature looking for his age, Ben was currently looking for the platform for the train that would take him to his new school for learning magic.

As he thought of that his mind went back to the discussion he'd had with his mother when he first told her about his decision to apply to attend Hogwarts. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty…

In any case, he could imagine how much of an idiot he looked like now. The letter he received told him that he needed to find platform nine and three-quarters, because that is where he was going to find the train that would take him to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, he thought that the British had different ways of numbering their platforms, and was met with a cruel awakening when he arrived, only to find out that, according to the people at King's Cross Station, nothing like platform nine and three-quarters existed. He went asking around, and after a while the people started looking at him like he was mad, and he knew that the security personnel nearby were considering arresting him, but then he wondered if they could arrest a foreigner on charges of insanity, and then came to the conclusion that he probably shouldn't test out that theory.

He stood at platform nine, wondering if the staff at Hogwarts made a typo in writing nine and three-quarters, then figured that was unlikely. His next thought was that someone might be playing a joke on him, but brushed that aside as well. He came to the conclusion that there was no error and the platform was hidden somewhere here. But how to find out where?

Then an idea popped into his head. He looked around, and then closed his eyes and concentrated. As he opened his eyes, he began seeing into the Duat. Now, the world was awash in color. The ground had turned translucent – gelatinous layers descending into darkness below. The air rippled with shimmering veils, each one vibrant but slightly out of sync, as if multiple high-definition videos had been superimposed on top of one another. Everything invisible had been revealed, painted with magic light. Ben looked around, noting the many mortals walking around the station as there were many colorless forms surrounding him. However, in the midst of theses colorless forms there were forms shimmering with silvery light, which Ben identified as wizards. He thought about going to ask one, but decided to keep looking around.

He looked to his left, and found what he was looking for. There was a portal, and on the other side he could see a large mass of silvery lights that almost looked like one bright light. Smirking in triumph, Ben walked through the portal and blinked once, turning off his Duat vision. Already he could feel his head throbbing, but it would go away in a few seconds. Meanwhile, he focused on the train that would be taking him to his new school for learning magic. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O'clock. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

Ben took note of the fact that the carriages closer to the front were filled up with his fellow students, some sitting down talking to their friends, others talking to their family members who were still standing on the platform. Considering he didn't have any family to say goodbye to here, and the train's whistle sounded, Ben decided to board the train, looking for a place to sit. However, all the seats closer to the front were occupied, and the only place that he could find a free spot was closer to the back, and even then there were already two boys sitting down there, who were in the midst of a conversation, but stopped when he opened the compartment door.

The first boy was a bit short. He was small and skinny, with a thin face, almond-shaped startling green eyes, untidy jet-black hair similar to Ben's, and round rimmed glasses which were held together by tape and had tiny cracks in the glass portion of the glasses. Ben noticed he was wearing clothes that fit him a bit loosely, though. The other one was taller than the first, but also on the thin side, lanky, with freckles on his face, big hands and feet and a long nose. Ben found his flaming red hair slightly distracting.

"Excuse me," Ben said politely. "Do you mind if I join you here?" When he asked his question both boys looked startled, but the one with red hair stammered, "S-sure. Have a seat." Ben took the seat next to the black haired boy, and even as he sat down both boys still stared at him. Ben began to wonder if there was dirt somewhere on him, when the red-haired boy opened his mouth to speak.

"Hello," he said. "My name's Ron Weasley. That's Harry Potter," he added, gesturing to the boy on the right of Ben. When Ron said that, it rang a bell somewhere in his mind, but he couldn't remember what was so important about him. He did recall seeing his face about a month earlier, thought he didn't get a very good look at him then.

"You wouldn't happen to be Benjamin Garner, would you?" Ron asked eagerly, earning a look of shock from Ben.

"Um, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well, everyone in the Ministry's been talking about you. You might be the first magician to school outside of Per Ankh, and people are excited to meet you. 'Spcially my dad. He wants to know all about your interaction with Muggles."

"Muggles? What are those?" Ben asked.

"Non-magical humans," Ron answered.

"Oh. We usually refer to them as mortals. But you still didn't explain how you knew it was me."

"Your accent," Ron said.

Ben flushed. "Oh."

Ron turned to face Harry. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Harry said, who was just as excited as Ron was about meeting Ben. "What's the Per Ankh?"

"It's the name of another school for learning magic," Ron started. "But it's located in United States. It's special though. They teach a different type of magic there, I've heard."

"Yeah. We call ourselves magicians instead of wizards. I attended the school for six years before I applied to Hogwarts." Ben said.

"Why?" Ron inquired.

"I heard about Hogwarts, and honestly, I wanted to be different. Learn different type of magic. Not to mention stressful," Ben said. "Of course, my mom didn't approve, but here I am." Ron turned to Harry.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

"Still, I think it's pretty cool to have relatives. I mean, at the Per Ankh we all live together, but it's not the same as have a brother or sister of your own." Ben said. "Of course, I see them all as my family, but I'm kind of jealous." Ron's ears turned a little red.

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep. Ben noticed that one of its toes was missing.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff-I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to be embarrassed. Of course, Ben didn't think any less of Ron or his family for not having a lot of money, and neither did Harry. He went on to narrate his experience, talking about how he always got hand-me-down clothes from his cousin.

"I didn't even know anything about my magical life until Hagrid told me. Not my parents, not Voldermort-"

Ron gasped. Then it clicked. Ben remembered that Harry Potter was the Boy-Who-Lived, and he alone survived an attack from Voldermort which backfired on the Dark Lord, and as an infant no less. He also remembered that people generally avoided saying his name.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"You said _his_ name!" Ron said, surprised. "People usually avoid saying his actual name."

"Sorry. I didn't know that. Just proves how much I know." Harry said "I bet I'll be the worst student in the class."

"Don't say that," Ron said earnestly. "Many wizards are raised by Muggles, but they learn fast."

"Yeah," Ben said. "I'm pretty sure you know more than me at this point."

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said,

"Anything off the cart, dears?" Harry jumped out of his seat like he hadn't eaten for a while. Ron flushed and murmured something about bringing his own food. Ben wasn't really hungry, but he decided to buy some food anyway. To the shock of both Harry and Ben, none of the candies that they were familiar with were present on the cart. There were a number of strange candies present, though: Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands. Harry bought little bit of everything, while Ben only bought a few.

Ron stared at all of the candy Harry bought. "Wow. You sure are hungry."

"Famished," Harry said, before digging into his food. Ben left some out and, when neither boy was looking, let the rest fall out of his hand. But instead of hitting the ground, they disappeared.

Meanwhile, Ron had taken out a wrapped package and began to unwrap it. Inside were four sandwiches. He took one out and pulled it apart and said, "Corned Beef. My mom forgets that I don't like corned beef."

"Swap you for one of these," Harry said, holding a pumpkin pasty.

"Yeah, help yourself," Ben said, who wasn't really present.

"You probably wouldn't like it now," Ron said. "She's always busy taking care of five of us so she occasionally forgets things."

Harry still insisted on sharing his candy, and eventually Ron caved in.

"Are these really frogs?" Harry asked, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.

"I doubt it," Ben said. He seriously didn't think wizards were _that_ weird.

"He's right, they're not. But they have collectable cards inside them. Famous wizards and witches, along with a description of the wizard. You can start collecting them now."

Intrigued, Ben picked up a couple of cards, unwrapped them, and saw what was on the cards. The first was a wizard named Grindelwald, a dark wizard defeated by the headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore, Icarus, a wizard famous for creating spells focused on flying, a card for a wizard named Newt Scamander, famous author of the popular textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and others. Ben was vaguely aware of Harry and Ron collecting more cards and consuming other magical candy, but he was more focused on reading about famous wizards and witches.

Eventually, their conversation was disrupted by a round-faced boy with tears in his eyes.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a toad pass by here?" he asked. The trio of boys shook their heads, resulting in him flat out crying, wailing about how he lost his toad, Trevor.

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Harry consoled. "Just keep looking."

"Yes," the boy replied miserably, walking away from the door.

"I don't understand why he's so bothered," Ron said. "If I had a toad, I'd try to lose is as soon as I can. But then, I have Scabbers, so I can't complain. He's so lazy and inactive that he could die right now, and you wouldn't even notice."

The rat in question was busy scrounging around the piles of candy.

"I tried to turn him yellow yesterday, to make him a tad more interesting, but it didn't work. Here, I'll show you…"

He looked around in his trunk, pulling out a worn out wand. It was chipped in some areas, and a white hair could be seen glinting at the end. Ron readied himself to perform the spell, when a girl appeared in the doorway. She began speaking about something, but noticed Rom holding his wand.

"Oh, are you about to do magic? Let's see it then."

She sat down right next to Ben and looked at Ron expectantly. Ron looked taken aback, but cleared his throat and prepared to do the spell. Ben also watched, intrigued to see how wizards did their magic.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." Ron waved his wand and pointed it at Scabbers, but the wand did nothing but let off a small yellow spark which startled the rat. Ron looked at Harry, who shrugged in response.

"I don't think that's a real spell," the girl said. "If it is, it's not very good. I tried simple spells for practice, and they've all worked for me." She moved closer to Harry.

"For example," she pointed her wand at Harry's glasses. " **Reparo**!"

All the cracks in Harry's glasses repaired themselves, and the tape holding it together flew off and disappeared. It resembled a pair of recently bought glasses. Ron, Harry and Ben were staring at the glasses in a mixture of shock and awe. The brown haired girl let out a gasp.

"You're Harry Potter. I'm Hermione Granger, and you are…?" she added, turning to Ron.

"I'm Ron Weasely." He said.

"Pleasure. What about you?" She turned to Ben.

"Oh, I'm Benjamin Garner," Ben said, smiling at Hermione. She let out a squeal of excitement.

"You're that American wizard from that school that teaches special magic! Would you mind showing some?"

Ben was a bit unsure about that, but he noticed that Harry and Ron also looked excited to see some magic. He caved in.

"Okay. Um, which spell to use…" he trailed off for a second, then his eyes fell on the closed compartment door, and a smile grew on his face. "Got it. **W'peh.** "

A hieroglyph briefly alighted on the door, before the door slid open on its own accord. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked equally dumbfounded.

"Amazing," Hermione breathed. "You didn't even use a wand!"

"Yeah," Ben said, flushing a little. "We do have wands, but a lot of our magic doesn't require a wand to perform."

"Well, I have to go help Neville look for his toad. You three should probably change into you robes, I expect we'll be arriving soon."

She walked out the door, but came back a moment later. "You've got dirt on your nose, did you know?" she said to Ron. With that she walked away. A few minutes later, the train started slowing down and a voice echoed throughout the train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."

Rom and Harry put on their black robes, while Ben pulled his luggage out of his Duat locker, placing on the train, and then proceeded to change into his school robes as well. Finally, the train stopped and people pushed their way out the door and onto a tiny, dark, platform.

A giant of a man came hobbling. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. In his hand he held a lamp. Ben identified him as the man Harry went shopping with a month earlier.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me"

All of the students followed the giant man down a steep, narrow path.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the giant man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

A few minutes after he said that the narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

The giant man pointed to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. "No more'n four to a boat!" he instructed. Harry and Ben entered into one boat, and were joined by Ron and Hermione. The giant man entered one boat by himself, and once he confirmed everyone was seated in a boat, shouted "FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" the giant man asked, holding up a toad while looking at Neville, who happily took his toad into his hands.

As Ben stared up at the magnificent castle he was gradually approaching, he wondered how his first year at Hogwarts would go, having no idea of the adventures awaiting him.

 **A/N: Done! Hope you enjoy!**


	3. We Walk As Lions

**A/N: Happy New Year! I'm back with another amazing chapter. But before then, just a quick response to those who reviewed:**

 **Cooldude98 - I elated that you enjoy my work! I hope it becomes more enjoyable as I continue to write!**

 **Sakra95 - Yes, they do, but it's somewhat minor, since he's going at the same time as Harry. No, Ben does not currently follow the path of the gods, but he will in future. I'll even drop a few hints as to whose path he's going to follow!**

Chapter 2: We Walk As Lions

As the students approached the castle, Ben fell back into the crowd, standing next to Hermione. Now he was feeling extremely nervous, thinking about all his classes and how they would turn out.

"Um, Hermione, right?" Ben asked. Hermione turned to face Ben and immediately a look of excitement grew on her face.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Do you know which subjects we're going to learn?" he inquired. Hermione looked elated, clearly happy about the opportunity to show just how intelligent she was.

"Well, according to what I read, first years are required to take seven subjects, which are Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Herbology, Astronomy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I also heard that we'd be having some flying lessons."

"Dark Arts? Is that like Isfet?" Ben thought aloud, earning him a confused look from Hermione. He noticed this and mentally face palmed, as she was a wizard and not a magician, therefore she wouldn't know about Ma'at and Isfet.

"Oh, sorry. You don't know about Ma'at and Isfet. The magicians draw their magic power from Ma'at, which is the order the universe, and we use it mainly to combat the forces of Isfet, which is chaos. The way most people classify everything in terms of good and evil, magicians classify things in terms of Ma'at and Isfet."

"Really?"

"Yep. I've heard that the biggest problem in the wizarding world is that dark wizard Voldymold-" Hermione flinched at the butchering of the name, but Ben didn't notice "-or something, but after you complete your learning at the Per Ankh, we have to fight all sorts of things, most commonly demons- Hey, are you okay?" Ben asked, noticing that Hermione had gone slightly pale.

"I-it's nothing. So, how does your school system work?" Hermione asked hastily, looking to change the subject.

"Well, we have the Chief Lector, the most powerful magician, and the equivalent of a headmaster. Then we have the Sem priests, who are sort of like teachers. My mother is one of them. After that comes the Initiates, who are the students of the Per Ankh."

"And what are the subjects that you practice there?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Hermione, you sure do ask a lot of questions," Ben commented.

Hermione looked annoyed. "I've only asked two questions. The only way to learn is to ask questions."

"Huh. Seemed like more. Anyway, we differ a bit more in that aspect. We have fields of study at the Per Ankh, and you can choose to study any one or more depending on what interests you. We have the Elementalists, who can learn to control the five basic elements of air, water, earth, fire, and cheese." Hermione looked at Ben like he was crazy.

"Did you just say 'cheese'?"

"Uh-huh. I thought it was a stupid joke the first time I heard it, but it turns out that cheese _is_ one of the five basic elements. Really advanced elementalists can control some of the more complex ones, like lightning, metal, lava, etc.

"Then we have Diviners, who can easily see glimpses of the future, although not many people take that course because it takes a rare talent to be able to properly learn it. Plus diviners tend to die young. Animal Charming is a discipline that focuses on controlling snakes, scorpions, and other poisonous animals, though really advanced learners can control more ferocious animals, like hippos, tigers, and wolves. But our staff takes care of that, too."

Without warning, a seedy looking boy walked past, pushing Hermione aside. Ben hand shot out, grabbing the boy by the wrist.

"Excuse me, but you just bump into my friend, here." Ben said politely.

"Really?" The boy sneered. "I don't believe that Mudblood deserves much courtesy, does she? Heard her talking about it on the train."

"What's a Mudblood?" Ben whispered to Hermione, who shook her head with a confused look. It sounded like a kind of insult to Ben.

"So you must be that Yank from a different school," the boy continued. "I'm Theodore Nott. You can ditch the Mudblood now. I'll be happy to show you around Hogwarts and tell you all you need to know. After all, those of us with the purest blood have to stick together."

"Well, I'm flattered, really, but I'll have to decline. Stupidity and body odor are both contagious, and you look like a goldmine for both," Ben responded coolly, watching Theodore flush with embarrassment and hearing Hermione giggle. Theodore wrestled himself out of Ben's grip and stormed off.

Ben heard a loud sound and realized that they'd arrived at the castle, and the sound was the giant man knocking on the castle door. Straightway the door opened and an elderly woman (who Ben assumed was a witch) wearing emerald green robes stood before them. The look on her face said this was a no-nonsense woman. Ben would have to be weary around her.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the giant man said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." Professor McGonagall replied. "Follow me, children." The children followed her inside the castle, looking with admiration, none more than Ben, thinking of how different Hogwarts was compared to Per Ankh.

Eventually, Professor McGonagall and the first years entered an empty room at the side of the hall. Due to the amount of space in the room, the first years were forced to stand uncomfortably close to each other.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be similar to your family here at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Professor McGonagall ended her speech, look at all untidy traits on the students, before making one last statement.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly," Professor McGonagall said, leaving the room.

"So how do we get sorted into these houses?" Ben asked Hermione.

"Well, according to Hogwarts: A History, Salazar Slytherin enchanted a hat with Legilimency, and it sorts you into the house you belong in."

"Wait. First, what's Legilimency," Ben asked. "Second, what's so special about the houses?"

"Legilimency is the magical skill of extracting feelings and memories from another person's mind and also allows one to convey visions or memories to another person, whether real or imaginary."

"So it's like a magical form of telepathy?" Ben inquired excitedly.

"If you will. As for your second question, according to what I read, Gryffindors are known for their bravery, chivalry, and strong spirits; the Hufflepuffs are known for their loyalty, kindness and caring; the Ravenclaws are identified by their intelligence and eccentricity; and finally the Slytherins were discerned by their shrewd, ambitious and cunning nature. I hope I'm put in Gryffindor, although Ravenclaw doesn't seem so bad. Hufflepuff is nice as well. But I hope I'm not put in Slytherin. Some kids on the train were saying that all the dark wizards came from the Slytherin house. Even You-Know-Who came from there!" Hermione spoke very fast, so Ben had to struggle a bit in order to understand everything she said.

But once he did, he began to ponder what house he would be sorted into. None of the house seemed too bad, not even Slytherin. Just because the house was known for producing the most dark wizards did not make it a bad house. Ben's musings were interrupted by the return of Professor McGonagall.

"We're ready for you now," she said sharply. "Follow me."

The students obeyed, walking out of the chamber, across the hall, and through the giant double doors leading to the Great Hall. Ben's first thought was that even if the wizards weren't as powerful as the magicians, they were pretty creative.

The Great Hall was lit by thousands of candles, floating above the four long tables, which is where the older students were sitting. Above the candles was a ceiling that looked so much like the night sky, that Ben blinked a few times to confirm that he was seeing right. As a magician he'd seen some strange stuff, but nothing like this.

"It's not _really_ the night sky. The ceiling is just bewitched to look that way." Hermione whispered to Ben. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." Ben made a mental note to find the library in this school and borrow the book. It was obviously an interesting read.

Professor McGonagall told the children to stop, while she carried a stool with four legs and placed a hat on top of it. In Ben's opinion, it looked like it might have been first made around the time of the dinosaurs, but looking at it now it was nothing but an old, frayed, article of clothing.

Ben didn't know exactly how he expected the sorting to go, but he was nothing less than astonished when the hat twitched, a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Everyone burst out in applause when the hat finished its song.

"All we have to do is try on the hat?" Ron whispered to Harry. "Fred told me we'd have to fight a troll! I'll kill him!"

"You believed him?" Ben asked him incredulously. Ron flushed.

"Now, as you all heard, the Sorting Hat will be placed on your head and you will be sorted into your various houses. When I call your name, step forward."

Ben zoned out a bit after realizing that the names were being called alphabetically. But once he heard a Justin Finch-Fletchley, he paid more attention, and two names later he heard "Garner Benjamin".

"All right then, let's do this!" Ben whispered, walking up confidently towards the stool. He noticed the staff sit forward in anticipation, probably because they were the few who knew of his origins. He noticed a few teachers with hopeful looks on their faces, although they did a good job disguising it. He didn't want to sound proud, but he would definitely be an asset to whatever house he was sorted into. He sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head.

"Hmm, different from the usual wizard. Oooh, a magician," the Sorting Hat started, and more students began to pay attention to him now. "Yes, you will certainly be an asset to whatever house you're sorted into. All right, I see you're very ambitious, seeking to create unity between magicians and wizards; I also see loyalty, willing to do anything for your friends. But your two greatest qualities are your bravery and your eccentricity. You have an amazing mind, and you're very eccentric from what I gather here. However, you brave spirit is your greatest quality, so you better be in GRYFFINDOR!"

A loud cheer went up at the Gryffindor table. Ben smiled as he handed the Sorting Hat back to Professor McGonagall, and for a moment he saw the faintest flicker of a smile cross her face. The sorting went pretty quickly after that, and Ben beamed when his three friends were all sorted into the same house as him.

Eventually, the sorting ended and the headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore stood up to speak.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you and let the feast begin!" All of the dishes on the table were filled with every kind of food imaginable.

Ben wasted no time in eating; he piled all sots of different foods that he liked and put them the plate in front of him, and dug in. While eating, he listed to some of his housemates talk about themselves. A boy named Seamus Finnigan told them that he was a half-blood, with a mortal father and a witch for a mother. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, explained that he was raised by his grandmother, and that his great uncle was always doing dangerous things to him in order to bring out the magic in him, which Ben disapproved of.

As Ben helped himself to some dessert, the bespectacled red-haired prefect who Ben learned was Ron's brother turned to him.

"Hello Benjamin, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" he asked. Most of the people ended their conversations and also faced him, intent on hearing what he was going to say. Ben felt his cheeks heat up, but swallowed his food and addressed them.

"All right. My name is Benjamin Garner, I'm eleven years old, and I come from the United States of America, Brooklyn, New York. My father was a wizard who attended this same school, and my mother is a magician. I've been practicing drawing on the power of Ma'at since I was three, and I'm pretty decent at it. Earlier this year I applied to the Hogwarts School of Wizards, and two months ago I received an acceptance letter. My favorite color is blue, my favorite hobby is practicing magic, reading, playing pranks on people-" he noticed the twins, Ron's older brothers, exchange an excited look at this "- and generally making life enjoyable and having fun."

"You reckon you could show us some magic?" Neville asked hopefully, mimicking the looks on the faces of many students surrounding him.

"Am I allowed to?" Ben asked Percy, who nodded his head. Ben took a deep breath and stretched his hand out over the table.

" **Heqat,** " he muttered, and a wooden staff materialized out of thin air, and landed in his outstretched hand. Ben noticed that some students from other houses were craning their necks to get a better view. He also noticed that at the high table, majority of the teachers were involved in conversations amongst themselves, but a few, including Professor Dumbledore were intently observing him.

Ben knew that he should probably stop here; after all everybody was already impressed. But the need to show off got the better of him, and in front of his audience, his staff transformed into a bald eagle, which did a few laps around his head and then landed on his shoulder.

As expected, many members of his audience were astonished. Many people began whispering among themselves about how amazing his magic was. Ben felt his head swell.

"I reckon you'll be a natural at Transfiguration," a ghost wearing a ruff and tights noted, flying through the table. Ben was fascinated at the arrival of the ghost.

"Wow! You even have ghosts here too?" Ben said excitedly as more ghosts streamed into the Great Hall.

"Indeed," the ghost said. "Allow me to introduce myself. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know you!" Ron exclaimed. "You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind," Sir Nicholas said stiffly.

"Nearly headless?" Hermione asked. "How can you be nearly headless?"

"Like this," Nearly Headless Nick said as he grabbed his right ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge.

"So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."

Nearly Headless Nick gestured to a ghost sitting at the Slytherin table. He had blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood.

"How did he get covered in blood?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

"I've never inquired about it. Seems a bit personal, but if you wish to know, you may ask him yourself," Nearly Headless Nick said, but Ben knew it was an empty suggestion; he doubted anyone would actually work up the courage to do something like that. "In any case, since we have both Harry Potter and a promising young wizard with us, I believe that the Gryffindor will claim the cup this year, eh?" he continued before leaving to converse with a ghost that looked fat.

Eventually, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Both Harry and Ben laughed, but for completely different reasons; Harry because he believed his headmaster was joking while Ben just thought the likelihood of anything here killing him in a painful manner was extremely low.

"And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindors followed Percy out of the Great Hall to the marble staircase. It was there that Ben discovered one of the most fascinating inventions of wizards: moving pictures. Nothing like GIFs, but actually people moving in portraits. He saw a beautiful woman curtsy as they approached, and a man said "Welcome to Hogwarts" before resuming the examination of a piece of paper.

Reaching the end of a corridor, a portrait of a fat woman wearing a pink silk dress hung. She observed the crowd of first years, her eyes resting on Percy.

"Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. He turned to the first years. "Whenever you wish to enter the Gryffindor tower, you must provide a password." They crawled through the hole to enter a something similar to a lounge, a cozy round room full of squishy armchairs."

"This is the Gryffindor common room," Percy explained. "You can come here between classes or afterwards. The boys' dormitory is to the left here, and the girls to the right."

Afterward, some of the first year boys- Harry, Dean, Ron, Ben, Neville, and Seamus- were given a bedroom to share. Six four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, most of them pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.

Ben sat up in his bed, stroking the bald eagle still residing on his shoulders. Then he tore out a sheet of paper, brought his bottle of ink and a quill, and composed a letter.

 _Dear Mom,_

 _I know I'll be delivering this to you by owl, which is the standard method of delivering messages in the world of wizards, but please don't dispose of it without reading it first. Although if you do, you won't be reading any of what I write hear, and I'll just be wasting my time._

 _Right now I'm in bed. We've just finished dinner, but I'll get into that later. On the train ride to Hogwarts I made three new friends, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry Potter is the one who defeated Voldymold when he was just a baby. I know you're going to say that compared to the agents of Isfet it's not impressive, but this guy is a big deal here. Ron is okay, although his hair is super distracting. Hermione is super nice and really intelligent, although she unintentionally comes of as a bossy pants or a know-it-all. They're really cool, and I'm glad I met them. Hogwarts is pretty amazing as well, they have things like sky ceilings and moving pictures (nothing like GIFs) and plates that fill themselves with food. Hogwarts has four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, and I was sorted into Gryffindor, where the brave at heart dwell or something like that. After that we ate dinner and I'm in the dorm, writing you a letter._

 _Hope you get this. I love you and miss everyone at the Per Ankh._

 _Your insufferable son_

Ben changed his eagle back into a staff, and then transformed it again into an owl, giving it the letter and sending it off. Ben hoped that his mother would read it. He even got a bit misty-eyed thinking about her. Soon after, he drifted off into the world of sleep. But his dreams were anything but peaceful.

 **A/N: And this is the end! Please review, as any and all feedback is appreciated! Hope you enjoy your holidays!**


	4. Not What I'd Expected

**Welcome back! I present to you the newest chapter of The Half-Blood Magician! U know it took a few months for me to release it, but RL really gets in the way of things you enjoy sometimes, am I right or am I right?**

 **Here's a response to Kamiccola, who reviewed last chapter: As you'll see in this chapter, Ben is more powerful than the average wizard, because, well, let's face it, compared to what the Per Ankh normally faces, Hogwarts would be a piece of cake. He's not OP though; he'll have his own challenges to face, with many surprises hidden within the wizarding world. Also, I dropped a hint as to whose path Ben would follow in this chapter!**

 **Chapter 4 - Not What I'd Expected**

 **Disclaimer: I tend to forget this. I own nothing.**

As Ben fell asleep, he recognized the weightless feeling from the few times his _ba_ had left his body, and looked down. Indeed, he saw his own sleeping form below him. Ben wondered why his _ba_ was unanchored to his body, then remembered that since was no loner at the Per Ankh school, he didn't have the magical headrests that anchored his _ba_ to his body.

Ben looked down at his _ba_ form and mentally groaned. Normally, magicians would have their human heads with the body of a bird or a monkey or something normal like that. But for some reason, whenever his _ba_ entered the Duat, he would have his normal head, but his neck would be grafted to the tiny body of a bumblebee. Fortunately, he knew how to change his look, and after a few seconds of concentration, his body was back to normal.

On a side note he did find that it was much easier for him to fall asleep, although he wasn't sure if it was worth looking like a freak every night, even if he was the only one who could see it.

A strong current pulled him through the door of the dormitory, and Ben found himself in a black, smoky looking location. He knew it was a room of some sort, but he couldn't properly identify it. He did note that it had a strong smell of garlic. Ben looked around to find only one inhabitant of the room: a strange looking snake.

The snake was gigantic, at least twelve feet long, and was a light brown color. What made it strange, however, was the fact that the snake had not one, but two heads at both of its ends. Ben wasn't freaked out in the slightest; after all, he'd seen worse looking demons. It definitely made his Top 200 Freaky-Looking Things though.

The snake started talking to itself. "Yes, master. Both targets arrived safe and sound at Hogwarts," Head 1 said. "I even got to observe the special one."

"The foreign one?" Head 2 two asked in a raspy, sickly sounding voice.

"Yes," Head 1 replied. "He is truly as impressive as Dumbledore mentioned. Last night after the sorting he entertained his housemates with shows of the magic he learned from his school. I witnessed him summon a staff from nonbeing, and transfigure the staff into a bird neither without a wand nor with any spells. Sadly he was sorted into Gryffindor. "

"Interesting," Head 2 said. "A shame for such talent to go to waste. No matter. After all, it is possible to have allies in all houses. You and Wormtail are perfect examples of that. Continue to observe him for now. If possible we can turn him to me, have his help in my return."

"Of course, master."

"Anything new to report about the stone?" Head 2 inquired, looking slightly more interested.

"I had already figured out effective counters to the charms and protections placed around the stone. Unfortunately, that meddlesome squib and his cat know about it as well, and spend most of their time guarding the door. I Confounded him, but I discovered upon entry the infernal half-giant from our fifth year gave Dumbledore yet another line of defense in the form of a magically resistant Cerberus. I've been trying to find out how to subdue it, but I can't do much without looking suspicious."

"You _will_ bring me the stone. That elixir will be mine." Head 2 said angrily, towering over the first. "I need not remind you what happens to those who displease me?"

"N-no, of course not master," Head 1 said in fear. Suddenly, the second head turned and looked at Ben's direction.

"We are being watched," it stated.

"Impossible!" Head 1 cried. "There is no one here. I myself placed all the wards to prevent anyone from disturbing us."

"Do you doubt me?!" Head 2 asked menacingly. "I can sense a presence here."

Then, without warning, the second snake head opened up his mouth, and a green beam of light came out, almost hitting Ben in the chest, but the magician disappeared before the light could touch him.

Ben shot up out of his bed and landed on the ground. A few of his fellow first years moved at the sound of the noise, but none woke up. Ben panted heavily, trying to calm himself down. The details from the dream were already leaving his head, although he could still remember some parts.

There was somebody in this school trying to steal something, and that person was interested in him and someone else. Unfortunately, he really didn't have anything to go by considering he couldn't report his dream to any of the staff. Not to mention he couldn't report dreaming about a two-headed snake. Sadly, wizards wouldn't understand that the dreams of magicians were visions of the past, present and sometimes future.

Ben looked at the time to see it was 6:08, the barely noticeable brightened sky confirming that. It seemed he would have to learn not to wake up so early, as he was no longer at the Per Ankh and didn't have to prepare for mortal school. At Hogwarts, breakfast didn't start until 7:40, and classes started at 8:10.

Sighing internally, Ben stood up from the ground and headed to the bathroom. It was fortunate that he had asked Percy for the directions last night. Once he finished his shower and put on his school robes, he placed all of the supplies he would need for that day in a leather satchel and went out into the Gryffindor common room, where a few older students were gathered, copying notes or finishing up homework assignments or simply reading. Most of them recognized Ben from the previous night, and few started whispering but didn't approach him.

Ben found an empty seat and pulled Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling and got to reading, something to pass the time as he waited for breakfast.

"Good morning," a voice said to him. He looked up from his book to see his friend Hermione.

"Oh, mornin' princess," Ben replied as he looked down at his book once more. Hermione's cheeks tinged with red.

"I'm sorry?" she said.

"I said good morning princess," Ben repeated, not taking his eyes off of his book.

"No, I m-meant why are you calling me princess?" Hermione asked, blushing again.

"Oh. It's one of he two nicknames I thought up for you," Ben said excitedly. "In Greek mythology, Hermione was the daughter of King Menelaus of Sparta and his wife, Helen of Troy. Besides, you look pretty enough to be a princess, so I though it would make a fitting nickname."

"So, what are you reading?" Hermione said, still blushing over his last comment.

"Magical Theory," Ben replied. "I woke up a bit early this morning, so what better thing to do than read? This reminds me, I don't think I finished telling you about the Per Ankh." Hermione dropped all her embarrassment and look excited as she took a seat next to him.

"I believed I stopped at Animal Charmers. Which means next are Combat Magicians. Combat Magicians use gigantic avatars-similar to magical armor-depending on what path they follow, which gives them absurd strength and durability. But its powerful magic which requires a lot of stamina. After that we have the Necromancers, who can control spirits of the dead to perform different tasks, such as, answering questions or haunting people's dreams-" Hermione paled "- and occasionally combat purposes."

Ben reached into his bag and handed Hermione a ring. Hermione turned the ring over in her hands, looking at it in confusion, before directing her look at Ben.

"What is this?" she asked.

"That's a magical item know as a charm," Ben explained. "Another discipline. The _sau_ are magical craftsmen who make magical amulets, rings, and other magical items for various uses. The ring you have in your hand a charm to produce a temporary shield." Hermione nodded in understanding.

"We also have the _sunu_ , or Healers, which is pretty self-explanatory. This is a discipline of support, learning how to heal all sorts of wounds and diseases. Last but not least we have The Path of the gods."

"What do you mean by gods?" Hermione said, causing Ben to curse silently. He kept forgetting that she wouldn't really have an idea of some of the terms he used, and she probably didn't know of the existence of the Egyptian deities. Best to keep it that way, at least for now. So he came up with something quick.

"Oh, um, you know how you have popular wizards, like Professor Dumbledore and that Voldymold guy?" Hermione flinched but nodded "Imagine if they each had some sort of magic they created and specialized in, and other ma-wizards admired that magic so much that they decided to practice it. That's what the path of the gods is all about."

"So you practice the magic of other wizards?"

"Er, sure."

"So which field did you study in?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Wow, you sure do ask a lot of questions," Ben noted.

"Just answer already!" she snapped in response.

Ben sighed. "Well, I didn't focus on any particular field of study. I just learnt a little of each, except for Divining, Healing, and the path of the gods. Diviners have to have the gift, which I do not. I couldn't heal to save my life, much less somebody else's, so that was out of the question. As for the path, I could never really find a go-magician whose path I would like to follow." Hermione open her mouth to ask something else, but before she could Ben looked at his watch.

"Well, would look at that!" Ben said loudly. "7:42! We'd better head to breakfast or else we'll be late!" Ben quickly gathered up his things into his satchel. When Hermione offered his ring back to him, he refused.

"Nah, you can keep it," he said. "I don't really need it. It was just one of the few things I made for my charm-making class." The bushy-haired girl smiled her thanks, pocketing the item. Together, the duo made their way to Great Hall, along with some other Gryffindors, and headed to their table. A few minutes later food appeared on the table and the students dug in.

Soon Harry and Ron joined them at the Gryffindor table.

"Blimey, Ben, where have been?!" Ron exclaimed. "We were looking for you in the dorm, but you weren't there!"

Ben scratched the back of his head nervously. "Oh, I woke up a bit early, so I got ready and went to the Gryffindor common room to do some reading," he explained. Harry, who was focused on eating, just nodded at his friend. Ron muttered something about being weird before digging into the plates surrounding him.

While they were in the middle of eating, Percy came by handing them their class schedules, after which he sat down next to his brother and asked him about how he enjoyed his first night at Hogwarts.

Ben finished eating and was looking through the subjects on his time table. Just as Hermione said, they would be taking seven subjects, along with mandatory flying lessons. Ben briefly wondered what it would be like to fly on a broomstick, but figured it couldn't much harder than flying on a griffin.

Finally, they finished breakfast were on their way to their first class, which was Charms with Ravenclaw students, taught by Professor Flitwick. According to the Sorting Hat, his eccentricity and intelligence made him a prime candidate for the Ravenclaw house, but his bravery and chivalry were much greater, although Ben wasn't sure if that was such a good thing. Ben also wondered if they would be making magic objects, but figured he'd find out anyway.

Hermione left before her fellow first years, stating she wanted to make sure she was on time for her first class. Not long after, Harry, Ron, and Ben also made their way to the classroom, but three boys got in their way. One was a pale, pointed-faced boy with light blond hair, while the other two looked like typical bodyguards: big, beefy, and stupid faced.

"Well, well, if it isn't Potter and Weasly," the blond haired boy sneered. He turned to look at Ben. "What's this? Associating with a blood traitor are we? Or perhaps you three are hoping you'll become some kind of famous 'golden trio'?" He laughed along with his two bodyguards. Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Ben beat him to the punch.

"Um, I don't really know who you are, but it seems like to me that you would have a much better chance at that than we would," Harry and Ron seemed taken aback at Ben's statement, while Malfoy seemed pleased. That was until Ben continued, "After all, it takes a special kind of talent to be that hideous." The tables turned with Ron and Harry bursting out in laughter while Malfoy went red in the face. His bodyguards cracked their knuckles threateningly.

Before anything could be done, a sharp voice said, "What are you children doing here?" The boys turned to see Professor McGonagall with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Well, we were on our way to class, but then we were accosted by these three boys here," Ben said innocently.

McGonagall gave Malfoy and his goons a sharp look. "Now be on your way; classes are about to start." she said. Malfoy gave Harry, Ben, and Ron a nasty look before leaving, make sure to bump shoulders with Harry.

Soon after they made it to their class, arriving just on time. Ben slid into the seat next to Hermione, while Ron and Harry sat in the seat in front of him. Hermione looked at all three boys disapprovingly, but said nothing, most likely due to the fact that Professor Flitwick began taking attendance.

Ben let his mind wander a bit while he waited for Flitwick to call his name. He thought back to his dream once more, deciding to figure out what was being guarded, and who was trying to steal it. He briefly considered going to the corridor on the third floor, which he figured would have whatever item was being guarded, as Professor Dumbledore stated that anyone who did go there would die a painful death, and being eaten alive by a three-headed dog was certainly a painful way to die in his book.

There were multiple ways to get past a magic-resistant Cerberus, surprisingly not involving magic. But he would still need to find out about the other defenses. Then he would have to identify the objects itself. According to the two-headed snake, it was a stone, and it had something to do with revival.

He heard Professor Flitwick call his name, and if Ben wasn't mistaken, he heard a bit of longing in his voice.

Ben would have to write up everything he knew involving the third floor corridor later.

The first thing he learned in that class was that they would _not_ be making magical items. Charms-in the wizarding world- are incantations used for bewitchment. For their first lesson, Professor Flitwick said that they would perform a simple color changing charm, and that was when the Ben and the other students in class learned about how powerful Ben was at performing magic.

Professor Flitwick placed a wooden box in front of every student. " **Colovaria** ," he said, waving his wand and changing the color of his desk from brown to a dark blue, and then reversing the spell.

"Now, I want to copy my movements, and change the color of the box to whatever you please," he instructed, casting the charm a few more times and changing the color of the box each time. The students immediately got to work casting the color changing charm.

" **Colovaria!** " Ben said, and everything went black. Literally.

When Ben performed the spell, the entire room, along with everyone and everyone and everything in it, turned blacker than ink. No one could see anything. Eventually, after a few minutes of shock, the students heard Professor Flitwick perform a hasty reversal charm, and everything turned back to normal, except now everyone was looking at Ben in a combination of shock and awe. Ben could feel his face heating up in embarrassment, in addition to the fact that his body felt like he'd run a marathon.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat while panting, albeit subtly. Reversing the magicians spell took quite a bit out of him. "Get back to work, students." He said, but even he stared at Ben. The magician in question just looked down and focused on his wooden box.

Ben attempted the spell a couple more times, but he was met with the same result. After undoing it the third time, Professor Flitwick momentarily passed out from doing the reversal spell so many times, Ben following shortly afterwards. Fortunately, not long after that their class ended, and soon the students were departing for other classes.

"How did you do that?!" Harry asked.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. More people came to talk to Ben, but expertly maneuvered himself away from them.

Ben's other classes weren't as disastrous as Charms was, mostly because they didn't require him to do magic. He pretty decent at Herbology, as he considered it the magical equivalent of mortal gardening or botany, and he knew how to care for plants. Ben took note of the fact that the Neville character seemed to be a natural at that subject.

As for History of Magic…Ben really loved school, both mortal and magical, but there absolutely no way he could enjoy that particular class. He considered the teacher cool, considering he was ghost and all, but he deadpanned at the fact that the man died without even noticing. The subject itself, or rather the way Professor Binns taught it, was absolutely horrid. All the man did was scribble dates for them to memorize and rattle off long lectures and speeches about different goblin and elf and giant wars. The worst part was the Ben had no choice but to stay awake during his classes, no matter how much his body begged him to take an hour long sleep. It also helped that Hermione would glare at him, Harry and Ron whenever they tried.

 _Well, if I ever need help sleeping, all I need to do is play a recording of this guy's class, and I'll be good,_ Ben thought.

Ben did notice something during Professor Binns' classes, though. In every case, whenever the wizards fought in any war, they were always painted in the most perfect light, something which Ben found fishy. He filed that thought at the back of his mind for future reviewing.

Astronomy had to be one of Ben's favorite subjects. He loved nothing more than to study the night sky along with all the other heavenly bodies.

Defense Against The Dark Arts was nowhere near as cracked up as Ben had originally thought it to be. Their teacher acted like someone who should be talking to a therapist rather than a class full of students. Despite the fact that the students were supposed to perform more magic in this class than any other, they hadn't practiced one spell since school began. Plus, Professor Quirrell constantly stared at Ben, which made the young magician uncomfortable and suspicious.

Ben hoped for a more positive result for his next class that would involve magic, but he had no such luck. When they were to have their first Transfiguration lesson, Ben made sure that he, Ron and Harry made it to class on time. He knew the kind of teacher Professor McGonagall was. She took no nonsense, and Ben sure wasn't eager to find out what she did to offenders by way of punishment.

"Transfiguration is among the most dangerous and intricate magic you will practice here at Hogwarts," she lectured at the beginning of the class. "It is essentially the art of changing the properties of an object. Any tomfoolery and offenders shall leave without returning. This is your first and only warning."

Ben got the message. As an example, Professor McGonagall transfigured her desk into a pig, and almost immediately reversed the spell. This excited all of the students in the class, especially Ben, although he was a bit reluctant to perform any magic after his last affair. Fortunately, they started out with lots of notes which most of the class insisted were complicated, although Ben saw nothing out of the ordinary about them.

Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall gave them each a match and, after showing them the correct wand form, instructed them to change it into a needle. While most of the students got right on that, Ben pulled out his wand, but made no move to cast any spells.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Garner?" Professor McGonagall said from behind Ben, causing him to jump. He hadn't even heard her coming.

"N-no, Professor," Ben stammered, cautious not to say anything to upset the teacher.

"If that is the case I'd like to see more wand waving an less daydreaming," she said curtly.

Taking a deep breath, Ben performed the wand movements and cast the spell. He watched as the match's texture slowly changed from wood, to metal, until a needle was lying on the desk in place of a match. Ben let out a deep breath.

"Very impressive, Mr. Gar-" Professor McGonagall paused when noticed the needle begin to vibrate violently, before getting larger, with two bulges jutting out from the middle of the needle. It continued growing until an iron dagger sat in the place of the needle. Ben felt his face get considerably hotter, but he barely had enough time to be embarrassed before he slumped against the back of his chair, exhausted. Fortunately for him, the other students were too deeply concentrated on their work to notice his latest mishap. His Transfiguration teacher, however, was a different matter.

Now, Minerva McGonagall was a woman who prided herself in not allowing anything to surprise her, and knowing how to hide her shock in the rare occasion that it did. But never in all of her years of teaching did one of her students transfigure a match into a knife, and a first year at that! She stared, open-mouthed at the dagger, before composing herself.

She picked up the knife and changed it back into a needle, a very thin layer of sweat on her face. "Ten points to Gryffindor," she announced, placing the needle back on the desk and saying nothing else as she walked away, examining the work of other students. The other students noticed the needle on the desk, and assumed nothing out of the ordinary happened, although some had been hoping to see how Ben had done it.

Ben just sat quietly, musing within himself until the end of the class. He took note of the fact that nobody had been able to perform the spell, save Hermione, who managed to change the match from wood to metal, but ended there. Immediately Transfiguration ended, Ben rushed off to the next class, avoiding anyone who tried to talk to him, including Professor McGonagall.

Ben made it through day without messing up his spells too much, but it still bothered him. He considered using his scrying bowl to call his mother, but decided against it. At dinner, Harry, Ron and a few other Gryffindors tried to make conversation with Ben, but his heart wasn't really into it. He went to bed that night, extremely exhausted and very concerned about his predicament.

The next morning, he sat with his friends at breakfast, slightly less distracted.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured powered sugar on his porridge. Ben just had a simple plate of eggs, toast, bacon and milk.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron replied. "Snape's head of the Slytherin house, and I hear he favors them. We'll be able to see if…" Ron continued talking, but Ben allowed himself to get lost in thought. He had mixed feelings about this Potions class. He looked forward to it as there wasn't much spell casting in the class, but he already knew that Snape wasn't a very likable teacher. In addition to what Ron heard, he'd also heard that Snape really disliked Gryffindors. In fact, majority of the points their House lost was taken by Snape. Still, he probably shouldn't make assumptions before formally interacting with the man.

Ben was snapped out of his musings when the mail arrived, hundreds of owls streaming in the hall and delivering mail to the recipients. So far, he still hadn't received a message back from his mother, but he figured a reply would probably come soon.

Ben saw Harry replying to a message from Hagrid, that giant man, asking Harry to come see him. Ben decided he would tag along when Harry went to meet him, as he was curious to see if he was a real giant, as he was obviously much larger than normal humans, but much smaller than the giants he'd met.

The first years had their first Potions lesson in the dungeons, which made Ben wonder two things: One, why did a school for teaching magic to children have dungeons in the first place, and two, why would anyone in their right mind want to teach students there. Professor Snape did his best to make the place look unsettling, with its low temperature and pickled animal parts floating in glass jars.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new…celebrity."

He also paused briefly at Ben's name, but made no comments.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began, speaking in an audible whisper. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses."

"Should we give you a moment alone with the room?" Ben joked quietly, making a few students giggle.

Snape glared at Ben, and then continued on as if the disruption never occurred, although Ben noted a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

"Garner!" Snape called out. "Since you have time to make jokes at the expense of your professor, do tell what a bezoar is, where I might find one, and what purpose does it serve?"

Hermione's hand shot up, but Ben stood up confidently. "Why, of course, Professor. A bezoar is a stone most commonly found in a goat. It acts as a universal antidote against almost all poisons. Moreover, if you place a bezoar in a cup of poison, it will neutralize the effects of poison. I've actually had to find a bezoar in order to cure one of my classmates from poisoning." Ben finished as he sat down. He knew he probably shouldn't have added that last part, but he couldn't resist. After all, this man did just try to intentionally embarrass him in front of his classmates.

Speaking of which, the members of the Gryffindor house were now applauding Ben, while the Slytherins were mumbling to themselves. Theo shot him a particularly dirty look, which responded to with a smug smile.

"Silence!" Snape yelled, and immediately everyone quieted down. "Mr. Garner. It seems you have a talent for disrupting class. I'll be taking five points for earlier and five for just now."

Ben was peeved, but didn't allow it to show. He didn't want to grant Snape the satisfaction of know he'd gotten under his skin.

"Mr. Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Before Snape even finished asking the question, Hermione's hand shot up into the air. Harry glanced at his friends, looking completely bewildered.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said.

"Let's try again. Potter, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Ben had to hold himself back from saying certain things that might get him in serious trouble. This shouldn't even be allowed; a teacher publicly shaming their students!

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "Looks like Hermione does, though. Why don't you ask her?" he snapped, once again causing a few students to laugh.

Snape didn't take so kindly to being dissed twice. "Put your hand down and sit, you silly girl. For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

At that, the students began rushing to copy down what Snape said. "Ten points from Gryffindor your cheek, Mr. Potter." Snape added, subtly smirking at the boy.

After that, Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing everyone. He tried to find something the criticize Ben and Neville, who he was partnered up with, but Ben made sure that he followed the instructions to the letter. With good reason, as multiple times Neville almost messed up their potion.

As he couldn't find anything to complain about with Ben, he turned on his second favorite target, Harry, constantly shaming him in front of his classmates and comparing his work to Draco Malfoy's. An hour later, the Potions class was over and the students turned in their assignments and left.

But Ben would make sure his grudge was avenged. Moving quickly, he used his wand to write a few hieroglyphics on multiple spots in the room. Professor Snape was bound to activate one of them, and then he would be having some very, shall we say, _furry_ problems.

He caught up with Harry and Ron, where the latter was consoling the former. "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"

"Yeah, let's get a move on. I'd like to finish up Transfiguration homework today, if you don't mind." Ben added.

"Where have you been, mate?" Ron asked.

"Just taking care of some pending business," Ben replied ominously. Harry and Ron glanced at each other, shrugged, then continued on their way.

 **A/N: Chapter Three is finished! I know it took a while, but like I said earlier, RL can really bust on you, if you catch my drift. Anyway, just let me know your thoughts in a review!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Magister Scriptor**


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